Engineering/tech jobs in the LA area (Los Angeles, Fortuna: job market, school)

[sirderpalot]

I'm currently a grad student studying Electrical Engineering and I'm kind of interested in working and living in the Los Angeles metro-area.

I'm originally from NorCal (Silicon Valley, to be precise), and proud of it. In fact, I went to UCLA and got into plenty of playful NorCal vs. SoCal arguments. I love NorCal, but I still want to get away from it. I want to go back to Los Angeles because I felt a certain sense of freedom there that I just don't feel in the Bay Area.

So is it possible for me to get a job in computer engineering, VLSI, analog circuitry, digital signal processing, or imaging and image processing in the LA area?

Also, am I wrong for caring about the location of my employment? Some people I've spoken to have said that I shouldn't care about where the job is, as long as I have a well-paying job. But I keep trying to stay motivated by telling myself that, if I do well enough in grad school, I'll essentially be able to choose where I work instead of having to take the first job offered to me. Am I being naive?

[Vascodagama]

No, you're not being naive. The job situation is not great right now but once you weather the economy it should get much better in your field.

[Jebby]

Originally Posted by sirderpalot

I'm currently a grad student studying Electrical Engineering and I'm kind of interested in working and living in the Los Angeles metro-area.

I'm originally from NorCal (Silicon Valley, to be precise), and proud of it. In fact, I went to UCLA and got into plenty of playful NorCal vs. SoCal arguments. I love NorCal, but I still want to get away from it. I want to go back to Los Angeles because I felt a certain sense of freedom there that I just don't feel in the Bay Area.

So is it possible for me to get a job in computer engineering, VLSI, analog circuitry, digital signal processing, or imaging and image processing in the LA area?

Also, am I wrong for caring about the location of my employment? Some people I've spoken to have said that I shouldn't care about where the job is, as long as I have a well-paying job. But I keep trying to stay motivated by telling myself that, if I do well enough in grad school, I'll essentially be able to choose where I work instead of having to take the first job offered to me. Am I being naive?

Granted I'm just an Electronic Tech (never finished the BSEE), I've worked with plenty of EE's and think the job market in this field seems pretty decent in LA. I've never been out of work longer than a month within the past decade. Entry-level jobs aren't nearly as plentiful as experienced.

If you are entry-level, I'd keep you're eyes open, but not move unless you find something. You may have to just go where the work is until you get a few years under your belt. Once you have some good solid experience, it should open up more doors and you can be more choosy on where you live.

If you're experienced, got a strong resume, decent people skills and have some money saved I'd say make the move. You should be able to find something.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Jebby

Granted I'm just an Electronic Tech (never finished the BSEE), I've worked with plenty of EE's and think the job market in this field seems pretty decent in LA. I've never been out of work longer than a month within the past decade. Entry-level jobs aren't nearly as plentiful as experienced.

If you are entry-level, I'd keep you're eyes open, but not move unless you find something. You may have to just go where the work is until you get a few years under your belt. Once you have some good solid experience, it should open up more doors and you can be more choosy on where you live.

If you're experienced, got a strong resume, decent people skills and have some money saved I'd say make the move. You should be able to find something.

I agree with this after living and working in both markets. Both can have good job opportunities even in a down market if you have the right skillsets - current in-demand experience. However gone are the days when just having a technical degree meant a guaranteed high paying job. Experience is king now and the education merely a minimum requirement to qualify.

So if your question is should I move to LA without a job lined up and only school experience I would say that is very risky. However if you look for and find a job which offers good experience I would say go for it. Building in-demand skills and experiences should be your number one goal at this stage of your career. Once you have that you can be much more selective in terms of location, pay, etc... You need to pay your dues first to build that demand. And sometimes taking a lower paying job initially even in a less desirable location can lead to much faster career growth in the longer term. So try to think strategically and then make strategic moves accordingly. Where do you want to be in 5-10 years? And what skills will it take to get there? Take some time to really think about this in terms of current market trends as well as emerging technolologies. Once you can answer that question start building those skills as quickly as possible.

Derek

[mayorhaggar]

I would put getting a job in the first place over living where you want to live. In the long run it's better for your resume and your finances if you lived somewhere you weren't crazy about but had a good job, rather than living somewhere you really like but not having a job.

Fortunately though Southern California is a massive area with lots of employers. I'd look for work for a few months in SoCal and if nothing pans out start sending resumes out to other parts of the US.

Also doing internships is always a good way to get your foot in the door, do one or two around SoCal and you might find your future employer that way.

[sirderpalot]

Well, like I said, it's a Master's program. I'll be writing a thesis and doing research. There's a group related to graphics that I definitely want to work with, but I've also got a few other groups that I'll be contacting if it doesn't work out. Either way, I'll probably do my thesis in computer engineering (either graphics, embedded computing, or low-power computing). I'll also rack up quite a bit of coursework in VLSI and analog circuits. I'll definitely try to get an internship with a company in SoCal. I plan on interning somewhere next summer, anyway.

So if I were to do well enough academically, get a good amount of research under my belt, intern over summer 2012 (hopefully in SoCal), and get a decent amount of money in my pockets from TA-ing and interning, would working in the LA area be possible?

Also, when I'm meeting with potential employers at career/internship fairs, should I tell them that I'd prefer to work in SoCal or would that not look good?

Should I post this in the Los Angeles sub-forum to get a little extra feedback?

[bhcompy]

Aerospace has been bragging about the number of open jobs(not sure why you would brag about jobs you haven't hired for, but whatever). Tons of aerospace here.

Also tons of medical(which is probably the future), including medical machine manufacturing/maintenance and such.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by sirderpalot

...
So if I were to do well enough academically, get a good amount of research under my belt, intern over summer 2012 (hopefully in SoCal), and get a decent amount of money in my pockets from TA-ing and interning, would working in the LA area be possible?

Also, when I'm meeting with potential employers at career/internship fairs, should I tell them that I'd prefer to work in SoCal or would that not look good?

Should I post this in the Los Angeles sub-forum to get a little extra feedback?

Those are a lot of what ifs. But what it really boils down to is finding a good internship or possibly better yet part-time work. Sometimes internships can lead to part-time employment during the normal school year. I work for a large corporation with offices in LA along with many other cities. We hire interns and then if they are good and positions open up we offer a permanent position to them. That's one of your best bets for a job in LA longer term. Since experience is important part-time engineering work would be much more marketable than part-time TA work, unless you plan to teach instead. While TAing is nice to put some cash in your pocket, its equivalent to working at the bookstore or something else which won't be counted toward real world experience. Many of our engineers get their Masters while working full-time.

Derek

[sirderpalot]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

Those are a lot of what ifs. But what it really boils down to is finding a good internship or possibly better yet part-time work. Sometimes internships can lead to part-time employment during the normal school year. I work for a large corporation with offices in LA along with many other cities. We hire interns and then if they are good and positions open up we offer a permanent position to them. That's one of your best bets for a job in LA longer term. Since experience is important part-time engineering work would be much more marketable than part-time TA work, unless you plan to teach instead. While TAing is nice to put some cash in your pocket, its equivalent to working at the bookstore or something else which won't be counted toward real world experience. Many of our engineers get their Masters while working full-time.

Derek

Basically, I'll be TA-ing for money and for recommendations/references.

Is there a certain subset of EE in which there are more careers in LA? For example, are there more microelectronics-related jobs, computer engineering jobs, or more signal processing jobs there?

And am I being unrealistic in wanting to work in LA? I'm sorry if it seems short-sighted, but I definitely want to work and live there, if anything just to get away from home.

[True Freedom]

Originally Posted by sirderpalot

Is there a certain subset of EE in which there are more careers in LA? For example, are there more microelectronics-related jobs, computer engineering jobs, or more signal processing jobs there?

Look at job boards like: Job Search | one search. all jobs. Indeed.com

I'm in the field and would say there are more hardware jobs than signal processing... though there are some hardcore DSP jobs out there.

Also, I would pick a subarea that you really enjoy rather than an area that has more jobs in some locality. The world changes quickly and data you base your decision on may be stale by the time you're job hunting.